As a director, Ken Russell's strong suit has never been his subtlety. And Lair certainly runs true to form for him. Lady Marsh hacks up a bilious green fluid on a crucifix at the Trent residence; on touching it, Mary is seized with lurid hallucinations that feature nuns impaled on stakes, nuns being raped by Roman soldiers, and Jesus himself being threatened by a monstrous snake, among other things. Amid all the gleeful blasphemy and vehement anti Catholic images, Russell never passes up a chance for a Freudian/phallic reference as well, and Lady Marsh gets more than a few choice one liners. As Marsh, Donohue vamps it up, slinking around in a vinyl catsuit; she's a perfect actress for the role—tall, sinewy, and having a great time as the femme fatale. Lair may border on farce at times, but Russell supplies plenty of real scares and suspense as well; how well all this holds up against the original Bram Stoker source material may be subject to debate, but it makes for a very entertaining movie experience. Russell wisely juxtaposes all this mayhem against a bucolic picture of English country living, as genteel Brits take on unimaginable forces and are put in hair raising situations.

The special features are a bit scant on this release, consisting of wry commentary from the director, cast and director biographies, the trailer and TV commercial, and notes on the special effects. It's worth noting that in those long ago pre digital days of the late '80s, the special effects were done the old fashioned way, with puppets and animatronic devices. Russell's over the top hallucinations may look a bit cheesy at this late date, but they're still almost absurdly shocking, with oversaturated colors and nasty, nasty images.

Viewers might do well to seek out other movies from Russell's own catalog, like the fiercely surreal Altered States (1980), a longtime cult favorite with stoner types, or l987's Gothic, an equally off the hook take on l9th-century horror. There's also Jacob's Ladder (1990), an atmospheric, bizarre psychological tale, or Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy, for those who like their horror delivered with a generous dose of humor.

Lair of the White Worm may be showing its age a little, but it's still a fun outing that wastes little time in advancing the plot or dispatching extraneous characters. It's worth it just to see Amanda Donohue get all slithery when she hears the sound of snake charmer music from the D'Ampton manse. It may not be one of the best horror films of the 1980s, but it's a worthy entry in the Ken Russell index. It points up the best and worst of Russell; heavy handed and occasionally tasteless, but also stylish and tongue in cheek.